Ostriig on 31/10/2010 at 13:45
If expandability is a point of interest I'd suggest go for a full tower. I've got a midi and I'm already playing dodge the graphics card inside it.
Aja on 1/11/2010 at 03:27
Expandablity is not as important as portability, and style :D
Anyway, I took the plunge! Pretty much as I said in the original post except got the HIS card instead of the Sapphire (cause it was the only one in stock). Oh and I went for the Truepower over the Earthwatts, because some snarky power-supply reviewer said it was better. Had to order the case, so I'm just waiting for it to arrive. Too bad I can't afford to buy any games for this once it's together.
Sulphur on 1/11/2010 at 10:45
Bravo! Now you just have to find some free time to play Crysis on super-duper-high details and get your maximum game on if you haven't already.
Aja on 2/11/2010 at 17:59
Still waiting on the case; hopefully it will arrive later today.
Aja on 3/11/2010 at 06:01
Well, that was fun. Got it all set up, installed software, ran Oblivion to see how smooth it was. It was working perfectly until it shut down abruptly and now it won't turn on at all.
When I press the power switch, the fan LED lights up for an instant and nothing happens. I tried unplugging the RAM, clearing the CMOS, checked all the connections. Can't even get it to POST. I don't know if the power supply's dead, since it still powers my mouse when plugged in (the mouse LED lights up, it's part of some kind of USB ipod charging feature I think).
Oh well, back to the shop tomorrow, let them diagnose it.
Aja on 3/11/2010 at 07:44
Boy though, for a few minutes there Oblivion, on insane settings, was running like Thief Gold. Can't wait to get this all straightened out and see what else this machine can do!
Brian The Dog on 3/11/2010 at 16:37
Were there no BIOS beep codes? Usually the CPU overheating gives you lots of short beeps from the motherboard speaker. Let it cool down for a few hours before re-trying it.
Aja on 3/11/2010 at 17:19
No beep codes, it doesn't even get to the bios. I figure it's one of three things: motherboard failure, power supply failure, or a motherboard short, which seems unlikely because the computer was running fine before it abruptly shut off, and I wasn't poking around or anything. So it's in the shop now, I'll find out in a few days.
Brian The Dog on 3/11/2010 at 19:49
Yeah, I'd go along with those 3 options. If it was a fried CPU or memory you'd at least receive various beep codes. Oh well, at least it's under warranty and the shop is fixing it for you.
Aja on 3/11/2010 at 20:18
Unless it's a motherboard short that I somehow caused during installation. What else could potentially cause a short? When the computer first crashed, it was running oblivion but I wasn't even playing the game—during that moment I was reading a manual or something, I didn't touch the computer in any way.
Oh, and there is one other thing: I noticed that the CPU fan was unusually noisy, so at one point shortly after everything was up and running I tried to tighten the heatsink. I've never installed one of these new intel heatsinks, and I dislodged it temporarily and quickly reattached it. When the PC crashed, I immediately assumed it was an overheating issue caused by me, so I removed the heatsink, regreased it and reattached it. So I doubt the CPU is at fault, but it's still a vague (and expensive) possibility.
